The Democrat governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) has instructed all government employees to not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials operating within the Caribbean territory, citing the need to “celebrate diversity.”
Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. (D) has directly defied President Donald Trump’s promised efforts to carry out the largest deportation project in U.S. history by sending a directive to territory government personnel, including education and law enforcement officials, to resist ICE, the Virgin Islands Consortium reported Sunday.
The directive, issued on January 29, came in response to what Bryan claims are ICE agents being spotted in neighborhoods and public schools.
Objectives outlined in the directive, obtained by the USVI publication, state that schools must bar ICE officials from entering the building absent a warrant signed by a judicial officer, ICE agents are prohibited from speaking with students without parental consent, and that school staff cannot disclose immigration information without a judicial order or subpoena.
In addition, any and all ICE activity — on or near school grounds — is required to be reported, and the Commissioner of Education must alert territory Attorney General Gordon C. Rhea of its presence.
“Local law enforcement officers are directed not to aid ICE agents in immigration enforcement efforts, as their responsibility is to protect residents and enforce territorial laws,” the Consortium noted.
Bryan said, “As Virgin Islanders, we celebrate our community’s diversity, and we will continue to protect the rights of all our residents.”
In a January 31 interview with the outlet, the governor acknowledged that continuing the rebuilding efforts from the destruction that Hurricanes Irma and Maria brought to the islands in 2017 would not be easy without illegal migrant laborers.
“I think the President’s plans are lofty,” Bryan remarked, speaking of the mass deportations. “They don’t have anywhere to put all these people.”
Out of a territory of just about 87,000 people as of 2020, the USVI had 627 undocumented migrants in St. John, the point of entry to the islands, in January 2024. It is unclear how many reside across the 15 remaining inhabited islands.
By issuing his directive, the governor has joined a growing list of local leaders to signal their defiance to Trump, which includes Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D).
In a January 20 (Trump’s first day back in office) interview with Denver’s 9NEWS, Johnston stated that his city as cooperated with ICE thus far, but may “re-evaluate” if local law enforcement “see a dramatic expansion in the number of requests that come from this administration, versus the last.”
On Wednesday, it was reported that new U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to “pause all federal funding for sanctuary cities.”
